Semansky is an instructor of literature and writes on literature and culture for various publications. In this essay, Semansky considers the idea of counterculture in Hoffman's book.

Abbie Hoffman's how-to guide for beating the system, Steal This Book, embodies many of the values of the 1960s counterculture, a counterculture that has survived into the twenty-first century, albeit greatly transformed. However, many of the actions that Hoffman advocates in the book, actions that have helped to define the counterculture itself, are no longer possible because of legal and cultural changes in the last thirty years. An exploration of some of these actions will give readers a sense of how much America has changed during this time.

An activist who protested Americans' selfishness and acquisitiveness, Hoffman sought to shape the counterculture movement while providing its sympathizers with the tools to survive. One of Hoffman's recommendations for how to survive...